Doreen and Emily were newcomers at Horsenden Farm, and arrived on a very chilly Saturday morning to see where we could help out. We were welcomed by the lovely team there and quickly set about our task, which was mooooooving any logs, branches and large twigs from the ground of an enclosed area that the cows were going to be led into. This is apparently because cows can be quite clumsy and trip over them! It was herd work but with two of us it only took calf the time. We also had to reposition some fencing which was all going smoothly until we lost one of the bolts that held it all together. After a good sweep of the ground and close to giving up, we thankfully spotted it and were able to finish up. This meant the cows had a safe area to stay in. A lovely task and a job well done, and we were on our way to warm up inside.

It was an enchanted November morning - you could feel crispness in the air and gentle sunshine on your face. Four GoodGymers accepted the invitation from Grove Farm, where the magic happens. Sevan, Kash and Christos flew up to North Greenford from Ealing. Or maybe they conquered the formidable Horsenden and Sudbury Hills on foot, running? Doreen came from Perivale not long time after and met Anna, Mike and other Friends of Grove Farm for the first time.

The group today was tackling the thorny subject of brambles. Sevan and Christos approached the topic with loppers, while Doreen, after addressing the issue with the same type of cutters, reverted at the end to her speciality from last week, a rake! Kash was not messing about after being given strong arguments to use (in the shape of a hedge trimmer) in the debate against brambles. She destroyed the statements of magical, talking brambles with several swings of the trimmer.

With brambles talked into moving away from the lane leading to David Lloyd and curling calmly into a dead hedge, the debaters started a more friendly discussion club focused on the consumption of tea and biscuits. The cosy refreshments are a winter thing at Grove Farm. We are going to check out the biscuit situation next time in December at the monthly Grove Farm litter pick and the Grove Farm conservation day. It would be fantastic if you could join us!

When Auberon and Kasia came to Dean Gardens in Cultivate's Mystery Machine full of daffodil bulbs from Ealing Council, they couldn't know how many volunteers would show up at the Saturday afternoon planting event. Two ladies, Sarah and Mary, did not disappoint. Was that enough people to plant all the bulbs in two hours though? Hold tight!

Whoosh! A gang of six GoodGymers has been dropped by Destiny right in the middle of West Ealing's green space. Madhan, Harvey, Sevan and Kash arrived after a session to prepare the bedding and set up beds for a night shelter at Haven Green Baptist Church. Moona came all the way from East London to make another guest appearance at GoodGym Ealing.

Doreen, determined to show up no matter the weather, decided to make her volunteering debut at Dean Gardens today! ⭐

Doreen made a great start to her GoodGym adventure by stepping in for the first task of the session: raking the leaves to uncover the soil. Harvey was collecting and wheelbarrowing them out of the way.

The rest of the crew split into diggers and planters. The first group dug holes in the ground for the second team, whose task was to fit ten bulbs in each pit. When asked about the pattern of holes, Auberon opposed any approach other than organised chaos - GoodGym's speciality. 👌 The patches of flowers in the spring were supposed to give an impression of natural disarray.

After each cluster of bulbs was buried, Moona diligently fed the soil with bone meal. If you think the plants are vegan, think again! In case you never heard of bone meal, it is a mixture of ground animal bones and other slaughterhouse waste that provides phosphorus and calcium to plants, acting as organic fertiliser.

Having covered two locations under the trees at the far side of Dean Gardens, we moved to the last location - the familiar bed that GoodGym Ealing helped transform during a few Tuesday sessions, starting in September this year. We planted the remaining bulbs and raked the new layer of mulch to cover the soil. With no baby daffodils left, we were done ahead of time!

The most faithful companion of the Dean Gardens tasks in autumn is mud. Those who experienced MudGym at Tuesday lunchtime sessions will know what I am talking about! Some of us, like Moona and Doreen, came well-prepared, sporting proper boots! 🥾 The rest - running or marching straight from other tasks - happily goodgymmed in light running shoes. 👟 An additional task of scrubbing the soles guaranteed!

If a bit of mud doesn't scare you and you are looking for an activity that boosts your lunchtime, pop into Dean Gardens for a weekly Tuesday session with Cultivate London and GoodGym to improve the green space for the local community!